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Gesshin Hide, Suisin, and Monzaburo goodies

A spiffy package arrived from JKI yesterday, and I just opened a cool little package from chazmtb on Tuesday. I haven't tried using everything yet, but I'm excited enough about it all that I took some photos and figured I ought to share 'em!

Right after taking the photos, I put my own edges on each of these knives. I wanted to stick with something that I know and which doesn't cut too fast, so I just used my SS 5k. The Monzaburo already had a nice edge, and the Suisin Densyo factory edge was alright, but you know that a knife doesn't really feel like yours until you put your own edge on it The Gesshin Hide knives, however, need the owner to put an edge on them before use.

I didn't have any fish on-hand, but I deliberately woke up early this morning to make some quick beef sashimi in order to test out the Gesshin Hide yanagiba. I put it head to head against my Masahiro honyaki 330 which I think I previously sharpened to 8k.

My first impression right off the bat is that the Gesshin Hide feels more nimble. I know part of that is the length and the resulting slight additional thickness. Still, the difference is more than what I would have expected from a 330 vs 300. The Gesshin Hide yanagi is a svelte, nimble little thing.

As I was cutting through the beef first with the Masahiro, then with the Gesshin Hide, the difference between the two was obvious. The Gesshin Hide cut through the beef nicer and faster. It wasn't that long ago that I sharpened the Masahiro, so there shouldn't have been a significant improvement in my sharpening between one and the other. I'd credit the difference more to the knife than to what I did with the edge.

The knife isn't overly reactive. It's starting to take on a slight hint of blue patina from just this one session, but it's not significant.

After snagging only 2.5hrs of sleep, trying things out at 6:30 in the morning, I wasn't able to discern any difference in terms of ability to feel the food and what precisely you are cutting through. I know there was a noticeable difference when I went from my prior kasumi yanagi to the Masahiro. No distinct difference between the Masahiro and the Gesshin Hide as far as what my sleep-deprived brain could tell.

Now as for the kiritsuke... I'll be testing them out side by side later today The Suisin makes the Monzaburo feel very beefy, but on its own the Monzaburo feels quite nice in the hand already. I briefly used the Monzaburo the day I got it to slice up some salami a couple of different ways, and I was quite happy with it. This time around, putting the two side by side and with soft meat, I think it'll be interesting.

I'm skill keeping my Masahiro yanagi or my Monzaburo in any case. They're still good knives and I still enjoy using them

It probably says something about my reputation amongst my office colleagues that when one of them walked into the kitchenette while I was slicing up some beef for my snack, she didn't bat an eye at the fact that I was slicing meat with a 240mm knife in an office kitchenette.

In any case, I didn't do a full test on the kiritsuke, but at least I have some quick impressions. Both the Monzaburo and the Suisin are comfortable to hold and use. The Suisin feels more agile and nimble in the hand due to weight and balance. Profile-wise, they are both nice for slicing with a bit of curvature to the edge profile. It facilitates keeping a smooth arc in one's slicing motion. They also obviously have enough of a flat section to make push-cutting a breeze and a pleasure.

I sharpened both of these knives on the same night and on the same stone, yet I feel that the Suisin went through the meat just a little bit better. However, it is entirely possible that I was just getting into the groove when I got to the Suisin. I split an 8oz piece of beef between the two of them, so it wasn't a whole lot of cutting and I warmed up on the Monzaburo first.

I'll have to spend more time with all of these knives to have any really substantial conclusions about them, but at least right off the bat, they're all great fun to use.

The Gesshin Hide yanagiba looks to have great potential. It feels really nimble and takes a really nice edge. It performed nicely next to my honyaki.

The Monzaburo kiritsuke is great for a quick, fun turn at the boards. If I had to prepare a more extensive meal though, I'd pick up the Suisin. Its lightness and nimbleness will make a big difference as one's cutting session gets extended.

Kiritsuke in general are new to me at this point, so I expect a bit of a learning curve here, but even after just a few quick moments with them I think I'm going to really enjoy using them Nice single-bevels just have a certain feel to them in-use that makes using them enjoyable

More to come on these knives in the future. Might be a few weeks before I'll be ready to say anything substantial about them though.

Oh, and one last tidbit. The Monzaburo steel has started to develop a very faint blue patina after just a bit of time in contact with the beef. The Suisin remains unfazed. So the White #2 in the Monzaburo may be more reactive than the White #1 in the Suisin Densyo.